ownCloud is an open source, self-hosted file sync and file share platform, similar to Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive. ownCloud is extensible via apps and has desktop and mobile clients for all major platforms.

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to install and configure ownCloud with Apache on an Ubuntu 18.04 machine.

Prerequisites

You’ll need to be logged in as a user with sudo access to be able to install packages and configure system services.

Step 1: Creating MySQL Database

ownCloud can use SQLite, Oracle 11g, PostgreSQL or MySQL database to store all its data. In this tutorial we will use MySQL as a database back-end.

If MySQL or MariaDB is not installed on your Ubuntu server you can install by following one of the guides below:

Step 3: Configuring Firewall

Assuming you are using UFW to manage your firewall, you’ll need to open HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443) ports. You can do that by enabling the ‘Apache Full’ profile which includes rules for both ports:

sudo ufw allow ‘Apache Full’

Step 4: Downloading ownCloud

At the time of writing this article, the latest stable version of ownCloud is version 10.0.10. Before continuing with the next step visit the ownCloud download page and check if there is a new version of ownCloud available.

Step 6: Installing ownCloud

Now that ownCloud is downloaded and all necessary services are configured open you browser and start the ownCloud installation by visiting your server’s domain name or IP address followed by /owncloud :

Click on the Finish setup button and once the installation process is completed you will be redirected to the ownCloud dashboard logged in as admin user.

Conclusion

You have learned how to install and configure ownCloud on your Ubuntu 18.04 machine. If you have a domain name associated with your ownCloud server, you can follow this guide and secure your Apache with Let’s Encrypt.